I've got a new apartment (baby)
by finnforever
Summary: "This is just temporary!" When Finn's life implodes, he has to find a new place to live and a way to put the pieces back together. Luckily for him, Rachel, one of his new neighbours, is excellent at puzzles.


**I've got a new apartment (baby) **

Finn sighed inwardly at the sharp _rap, rap, rap _on the front door. Remaining where he lay, sprawled out on the designer sofa that seemed to be created with aesthetics in mind and less for consumer comfort, he sighed again. He'd been staring at the ceiling, defeated, for quite a while and hadn't planned on being done for some time yet. Finn wondered if he stayed silent, and still, whether the door knocker would just go away.

_Rap, rap, rap. _His lights were off. Blinds were pulled across blocking out the moonlight. TV screen was blank. Silence_. _

_Rap, rap, rap. _Whoever was at his door was nothing, if not persistent, and obviously they weren't going to give up.

His bare feet hit the lush pile carpet and he stumbled to swing open the door, squinting when the brightly lit corridor intruded on his dark misery. Expecting a person, instead he was greeted by a huge gift basket, wrapped with crinkly cellophane and tied artfully with a giant blue bow.

"Well, hello, Mr Hudson," the voice behind the gift basket rung out tunefully, peppy and bright, "My name is Rachel Berry, and its my pleasure to welcome you to this wonderful Brownstone. On behalf of our quaint neighbourhood, I am delighted to say that we can't wait to get to know you."

_Can't wait to get to know you_. Finn grimaced, cursing Kurt. This apartment was supposed to be temporary. A stop gap while he sorted out a few things. It provided solace and distance. This was obviously Kurt's space and he didn't intend to intrude for long. A week, probably. Two, possibly, at the most and then everything would go back to normal.

Finn stayed mute. If he ignored her, maybe she would just disappear.

The gift basket lady continued. "I'm the resident activities coordinator for this residence" She smiled to herself at her clever word play, "and while I hold the official title, I would be derelict in my duties to mention that I'm open to any and all activity suggestions. Roof top picnics, gardening club, Halloween duty - they are just some of our upcoming events. We also have a body corporate facebook group, run by Blaine Anderson, Kurt's beau and a monthly newsletter. The latest issue of '_Home, sweet, home_' is in here," she thrust the basket at his chest, giving him no option but to take it, "listing the dates and requirements of the upcoming events, as well as a few hand picked, choice gifts to act as an introduction and welcome to the building."

Finn didn't think he'd ever heard someone string so many inconsequential and ridiculous words together. _Why hadn't Kurt warned him about this lunatic?_

"There are so many special items in here." The woman gestured to the basket with a flourish and stepped forward invading his dark fortress, forcing Finn to take a step back into the apartment. "You have Emma's chocolate chip cookies, macarons and gingerbread and her secret coffee bean mix. Which is fair trade and ethically sourced, of course. She owns the amazing bakery on 4th. It's called Bread & Butter Co. As the winner of several eatery awards, you've probably heard of it. I may be bragging but even though I am an excellent cook and more than adequate baker, these cookies, you'll have tasted nothing like them before and they'll leave your mouth watering. And there are also themed sports bandaids and injury burn spray. They're a small joke from Dr. Tina Cohen-Chang, but seriously, she has also included a comprehensive first aid kit, which is an essential for every home..."

Miss Rachel Berry's voice trailed off as she realised Finn had not yet spoken one word.

He scowled and lowered the unwanted basket to take a good look at the prattler. She was tiny. Comparatively short, when sized next to him, but she would also be tiny compared to normal sized people. Miss Berry's shiny, dark hair fell in waves, tumbling down her bare shoulders then settled just below her bare collarbones. Her brown eyes reminded Finn of melted dark chocolate, her sharp cheekbones could cut glass and the slight part to her full pout was distracting. Rachel was lovely. Finn catalogued it in his brain under observations that didn't matter.

She was dressed in a black and white polka dot pantsuit which might be slightly twee to other people, and Finn knew Quinn would be scathing in her fashion assessment of this stranger but he had to admit he'd always had a thing for polka dots _and_ for pant suits and the high waist made her short legs strangely seem 10 foot tall. The outfit was topped off with skyscraper heels embellished with pointless bows. Without the shoes she couldn't have hit much more than just over five feet tall. All of it was catalogued as details that Finn couldn't summon any interest in.

Despite his obvious scathing scrutiny, she bravely found her voice once more, and added with extra enthusiasm, if that was at all possible.

"We have even been spoiled with a mystery item included. Sugar Motta has picked a vintage piece from her recycled clothing boutique, _Sugar_ _Shack_, tailored especially for you. Even I don't know what it is! Kurt, as you may be aware, received a beautiful silk _Hermes _scarf that he wore to the Tony's and I was fortunate to be given replica ruby slippers, exactly the kind Judy Garland wore in 'The Wizard of Oz'. They are pride of place in my home, I just adore them, and honestly, it's so exciting to imagine what she could've included for you. Perhaps, some famous cleats or -".

"Look, Rachel, it was Rachel, right?," Finn interrupted her diatribe, pressing on at the slight nod given in recognition of her name, "There seems to be a small misunderstanding Rachel, I'm not going to be here for long. Not long enough to meet anyone, except in passing. Definitely not long enough for socialising."

Finn didn't want to be here. This wasn't his home. He had a _home_. It was in a beautiful, palatial, expensive Californian estate with four bathrooms, five bedrooms, a pool and a den with a wide, comfortable couch that was perfect for napping, unlike the monstrosity here that had potentially fucked his lower back. Most importantly, it was a gated private community, and no one ever knocked on his front door without being invited.

He even had a wife, he was a newlywed, for fucks sake. At least, he'd had a wife. He was having a baby. There were due dates and pregnancy photo shoots and gender reveal balloons. Last week, all of these plans had been his.

But right now the only thing he was sure that belonged to him was a migraine, a throbbing, dull ache reverberating in the back of his brain and travelling through his bloodstream, activating every pain centre in his entire body.

Rachel's brow wrinkled in confusion. "I see. I was under the impression, I mean, Kurt said that you'd be subletting from him with a potential to take over his lease. You'd be an excellent addition to our building and you come with Kurt's stellar recommendation..."

Once again Rachel trailed off, unsure of how to proceed given the delicate situation.

"I'm glad you think I would fit into whatever weird social set you have going on here," Finn laced his voice with enough sarcasm for Rachel to hear him sneer as he spoke, "But, here's the thing - I have a place. I have a wife and I'm having a baby. I have a job on the other side of the country. Me staying here. This is just temporary."

"I'm sorry, I just thought I read, I mean, I saw the photos, I mean, there are trade rumours and Kurt said, and ... " Rachel left her open ended thought hanging. She was too polite to say what Finn knew she meant.

"You shouldn't believe everything you read in tabloids, Rachel," Finn chided her.

Rachel bit back, dropping her cheery veneer for just one second, "I am aware of the tales tabloids tell, Mr Hudson. National broadsheets though, SportsCenter and _brothers_, well, they're, usually a different, more truthful kettle of fish."

At a loss for a genuine explanation and unbelievably tired, Finn was done for the evening. He didn't have to justify anything to her. And he thought, with a soul crushing realisation, he couldn't offer a reasonable excuse.

"Just a misunderstanding." The words had lost all meaning. Coherent thought processes were all gone. "Just temporary."

Finn pushed the basket back into Rachel's arms, with enough intensity to force her through the door, stumbling backwards. Regaining her footing, she rebalanced the basket in her arms and set her chin forward, haughtily, and gave him a pitying glance.

"I'm sorry." His apology was almost inaudible, and he felt shame at his brutish behaviour in the pit of his empty stomach. Never had he ever behaved with such boorish manners, especially to someone who couldn't have deserved them less. Not capable of waiting for forgiveness or anger or any type of reaction, Finn slammed the door in her face.

Once again he found himself curled up on the stupid couch, his body contorting itself to fit and he restarted his long vigil of blankly staring at the ceiling.

Weirdly, in the early hours of the morning, with his bladder compelling him to move, he felt the urge to stumble back, half asleep, half awake to the front door. Opening it he was surprised to see the now abandoned gift basket, still waiting for him. Tucked into the bow was a note, on pink scented paper. Unsigned, it was brief.

_Hope you feel better soon_.

Dragging the gift basket inside, he dumped it on the kitchen counter and returned to his lonely, lumpy couch, before doing an about turn. Instead of sentry duty on the misshapen couch, he found himself in the spare bedroom. Stretching out, he felt the stiffness in his joints alleviate, while his lower back rejoiced. He purposefully closed his eyes and in minutes, he slept.


End file.
